Tuesday, April 30, 2013

SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) — Federal wildlife managers are releasing two pairs of Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico in hopes of bolstering the population of the endangered predators.

The first pair was transported this week from a captive breeding facility in New Mexico to a holding pen in the Apache National Forest in southeastern Arizona. The male and female will be released once they acclimate to the area.

The other pair is being released at a remote site within the Gila Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico. The wolves were crated and packed into the backcountry Saturday on the backs of specially trained mules.

Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the wolves would be placed in a temporary enclosure at a release site about a dozen miles from the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. The wolves will be able to chew their way out of the enclosure.

"We continue to be committed to strategic releases that improve genetic diversity, increase the number of breeding wolves and offset illegal mortalities in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area," Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Benjamin Tuggle said in a statement.

Tuggle said he expects the releases to help the agency reach its goal of a self-sustaining wild wolf population.

Environmentalists said the releases were a positive step. They have long criticized the agency for not releasing more wolves. Still, disdain for the animals continues to pulse through rural communities, where ranchers feel their livelihoods are at risk.

A subspecies of the gray wolf found in the Northern Rockies, the Mexican wolf was added to the federal endangered species list in 1976. The 15-year effort to reintroduce them in New Mexico and Arizona has stumbled due to legal battles, illegal shootings, politics and other problems.

Officials with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department said much consideration went into choosing which wolves would be released and where they would be let go. Factors included their genetics and whether they had formed a breeding bond as well as the absence of livestock, the distance from homes and whether there were enough elk and other prey.

Members of the wolf recovery team plan on putting out supplemental feed for the wolves while they learn to catch and kill native prey. Officials say that will also help anchor the wolves to the area.

We sincerely hope that all the controversy and set backs surrounding the Mexican Wolf Recovery have motivated the team to set plans in motion to protect these wolves and keep them under constant surveillance...

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Recently a wildlife services employee shot one of the 75 Mexican Gray Wolves (claiming he had mistaken it for a coyote) and the FWS and Wildlife Services tried to cover it up, omitting it from the mortality report they release each month. It took public pressure and a FOIA request to get them to admit the killing. The effort to reintroduce the wolves in New Mexico and Arizona has stumbled due to legal battles, illegal shootings and other problems...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Officials confirmed Wednesday that an animal killed by a federal employee in southwestern New Mexico in January was a Mexican gray wolf. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said genetic tests confirmed it was a small, uncollared female. More tests are under way to determine which pack the wolf was associated with. The Mexican gray wolf was added to the federal endangered species list in 1976.

In January, an employee with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services shot what officials described at the time as a "canine." The employee reported the shooting because the animal looked like a Mexican wolf after closer inspection. The wolf was shot from about 250 yards away, officials said. "Our specialist, at the time, was upset and that's why he reported it. Still, we're disappointed that it occurred," said Carol Bannerman, a spokeswoman at Wildlife Services headquarters.

Federal officials have been tight lipped about the January shooting. They have not said what prompted the employee to shoot but implied that he may have thought it was a coyote. The employee was in the Mangas area investigating cattle deaths when the shooting occurred. Bannerman said the employee remains on the job and the agency is cooperating with the Fish and Wildlife Service. The case has been turned over to the U.S. attorney's office for review.

Endangered Species Act via U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servicehttp://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/Endangered Species Act | OverviewWhen Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973, it recognized that our rich natural heritage is of “esthetic, ecological, educational, recreational, and scientific value to our Nation and its people.” It further expressed concern that many of our nation’s native plants and animals were in danger of becoming extinct.The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. It is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Commerce Department’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The FWS has primary responsibility for terrestrial and freshwater organisms, while the responsibilities of NMFS are mainly marine wildlife such as whales and anadromons fish such as salmon.Under the ESA, species may be listed as either endangered or threatened. “Endangered” means a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. “Threatened” means a species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. All species of plants and animals, except pest insects, are eligible for listing as endangered or threatened. For the purposes of the ESA, Congress defined species to include subspecies, varieties, and, for vertebrates, distinct population segments.Please see FWS link below to learn more and for all the details, download the ESA fact sheet. [120KB]: